The Wandering Bard
by LastArcanni
Summary: The once greatest bard in YGGDRASIL finds himself in a new world. He, who was once a just a minstrel is now one of the strongest. What will a men driven by his ambition accomplish in this New World? My first Fanfiction be gentle.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"It's nearly over" thought Argus.

23:55:03

Yggdrasilwas shutting down in a mere five minutes and all he could do was play his lute and look at the stars.

Argus sighted.

He had been one of Yggdrasil's most famous players for his dedication to role-playing but now it was all meaningless.

He looked around him. He looked at the beautiful small lake surrounded by trees where he was camping. He looked at his companions, the NPCs of The Wanderers.

Eberk Ironfist, level 100, mercenary, dwarf cleric and cook.

Lezalit Le Goff, level 100, mercenary, human general and fighter.

Chalia Erthana, level 100, adventurer, elf ranger and rogue.

And then there was him Argus "The Wandering Bard" Grey, level 100, cursed human bard.

"The Wanderers" weren't a guild; it was simply the nickname the community had given him and his NPCs.

The Wanderer was the number one player explorer in Yggdrasil; he had discovered well over 30% of Yggdrasil and was famous for his songs.

It had begun as a joke but he had fallen in love with the game and had started exploring the game. Then he took bard classes to be able to play instruments and the songs from the game. Before he knew it he had started composing songs about the game and great feats.

Amongst them was a song about the first battle against Yggdrasils final boss, the great invasion of Nazarick, and songs about the each World Champion and World Destrroyer.

The NPCs were acquired after completing several missions and questlines.

Chalia was a ranger that "decided" to travel with him after he quest to save a elf kingdom.

Eberck "took a liking" to him after the Great Undead war.

Lezalit was an exiled general turned mercenary who "sold his service" to him after he helped him escape from his former masters.

In their settings it was worth noting a line that said they were utterly loyal to him.

Being a bard he was the definition of jack-of-al-trades. Magic, healing, fighting, tanking, and even summoning he could do them all, but only at about the level of a medium dedicated character.

He was actually a pretty decent rogue and a general buffer and debuffer but what made him so famous were his abilities in large scale battles where he would use all of his skills along other complete classes.

In 30v30 battles upwards it would seem the enemies add a numerical advantage.

Being able to do a bit of everything it also meant he could support almost everyone.

However he only had half a dozen 10th tier spells so he couldn't compete with a pure wizard alone. Same with the all other classes, he was never a master.

There was another ting worth noting in his party.

Lezalit.

He had the commander and general classes which gave a passive bonus in stats and gained experience.

Since Lezalit was a fully levelled general the boost was ridiculously high.

By the way the game developers refused to nerf it saying that the character himself was pretty weak with all the levels put into a class that gave no bonus to character.

That being the case general class became quite rare and Argus was regularly hired because of Lezalit.

Severing his thoughts Argus gazed upon himself.

He was clad he Divine-class items and he even had a spare set. Right now he had a multicoloured gambeson and trousers, and a bright red cape. He had a musketeer hat with some feathers and fingerless gloves.

Strapped to his back were a lute, a massive two bow crossbow, and some throwing knives. He also had a rapier and a longsword.

His NPCs were also covered in Divine items but they only had a single set.

Chalia wore regular ranger clothes, green and brown, with a cape that helped her hide.

She used a massive longbow and two shortswords.

Eberk had chainmail, a shield, a warhammer and throwing axes.

Lezalit wore heavy armour, a shield, a spear and a katana (because Argus was a bit of weeaboo).

All the items had top tier enchantments of course.

They also had big level 100 horses which increased their carry weight to a ludicrous amount therefore they always had all items on hand.

23:59:40

"It's time" said Argus.

"Goodbye Eberk, my friend" he said to the dwarf.

"Goodbye Lezalit, my brother" he said to the human.

"Goodbye Chalia, my love" he said to the elf.

"Goodbye Yggdrasil" he said to the world.

23:59:57

23:59:58

23:59:59

00:00:00

00:00:01

"Huh?" said Argus.

"The hell? Didn't the game end?"

"What happened boy? What game are you talking about?" said a rough voice next to him.

Argus looked to his left to find Eberk staring at him.

"What? Cat got your tongue?" he asked.

Argus said nothing. He couldn't say anything. Inside of him there was giant storm brewing.

"What the fuck is happening?" he wanted to shout that out but something stopped him.

Looking back at Eberk he finally managed to answer.

"I'm fine."

"You sure? You looked pretty startled there for a moment."

"I'm good."

"If you say so. Come on I'm gonna make dinner. Lezalit, want some? 'bout you Chalia?"

"I'll have some." said a powerful mans voice.

"Me to." said a beautiful woman voice.

It was around this moment that Argus wanted to give up. I mean, can you imagine it? The NPCs, which are supposed to be without emotions, unable to speak or **move their mouths**. Suddenly start speaking to you and acting like living beings. It was a bit too much.

Trying hard to control his pulse, Argus noticed something.

He had a pulse.

Of course he had a pulse. He was a living being. Except in games were it isn't presented. More than that he could smell the food Eberk was making and boy did it smell good.

There was no smell feature in DMMO-RPG. There was a limited sense of touch in DMMO-RPG. There was no sense of taste in DMMO-RPG.

If he could prove that the 3 of them now were real them he would be able to accept that something was probably, certainly, catastrophically, wrong. But first he should try the Forced System Access, Chat, Call GM, Log Out.

It was then that he realized there was no control interface.

"I'm in another fucking world" said Argus looking at the stars.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Argus tried to compose himself as the revelation washed upon him.

How could he possibly be in another world? How was that even possible? He had just seen too much anime.

But then again it would explain all the changes around him but how to explore this?

He was still in his YGGDRASIL character, a handsome 20-something white, tall man with short dark hair, a mustache and a bit of beard in his chin. (Author's note: don't know how to phrase it any better, sorry)

Was he still able to do magic? What about his physical condition? How would one cast spells?

As he pondered these questions the answer came to him.

Looking to a place next to him, he casted his spell.

[Dancing Lights]

4 torch-sized lights appeared in front of him and floated about. Argus directed them with his thoughts for a while before leaving them be.

"Magic's good. I can use it." Said Argus to himself.

"What about my inventory?"

He stretched his hand forward and a small hole appeared in the air. Inside the hole there were all of his items.

"OK. Inventory is here and there are no problems. All that's left is confirming that the NPCs are still loyal to me."

Turning around, Argus gazed at the sky and searched for the familiar constellations. The skies of Midgard were a copy of the real world star maps.

Something seemed weird. What was it? Then it hit him. The skies were different. This wasn't Earth or Midgard sky. That was what Argus was convinced that he was in fact in another world.

"The sky…" he murmured.

The others looked at him uncertain before looking up and realizing what he had meant. Needless to say their reactions weren't the most subtle.

"What happened?"

"Where are we?"

"What are we going to do?"

Seeing them panicking Argus decided that this was a good moment to act and see how they reacted to him.

"Stay calm." He ordered them.

The others calmed down after a while and looked at him for help. Argus sighed; this wasn't going to be easy.

"Shalia, take a look around and see if you find anything that might explain what happened to us. Lezalit, use the summoning books and summon a few monsters to stand guard around camp. Eberk, be ready to fight at any time." He ordered them trying to found like a leader.

For a few moments nothing happened with the others just looking at him. Just when Argus started to doubt himself…

"Yes sir." said Lezalit pulling one o the summoning books from his inventory.

"Right away." Said Shalia activating her cape invisibility has she started moving.

"I'm always ready for a fight." Eberk told him.

Argus felt a huge weight being lifted from his shoulders. The NPCs… no, the other party members had obeyed his orders; this meant he didn't have to worry about being betrayed for now.

Lezalit was summoning Moonlight wolfs, 20 of them. At first it seemed weird to Argus that he would summon such weak creatures but then it occurred to him that he was summoning them merely to establish a watch perimeter. It was actually a good idea. And even then with Lezalit bonus to training and summoning the level 20 wolves were turned into level 35.

Deciding to help Argus pulled out an item from his inventory and activated it.

[Create Greater Undead]

Four Eyeball Corpses appeared before him and Argus felt the link between himself and the monsters as they came into existence.

"Establish a perimeter around the campsite and notify me if any creatures appear."

The Eyeball Corpses took flight and started scanning the surroundings.

Argus put away his item [The Great Lich Soul] and looked at Lezalit who looked hurt.

"I am aware that my skills cannot mach up to yours. But I can at least create a defensive barrier." he visibly hurt.

Argus felt bad. He had given him an order and then ignored it done his own thing.

"I'm sorry Lezalit but I wanted to see if this item still functioned properly." He lied." It is a very powerful item and had it been unusable it would put a dent on our fighting ability."

Lezalit looked at him with revelation on his face.

"Of course! How could I doubt your intellect? My most sincere apologies."

Argus felt like he was being mocked but Lezalit looked sincere so he let it slide. Then another thought struck him.

"Lezalit we are in a new world. We are unaware of the inhabitants and their strength. I want you to keep a close eye on anyone you meet and give information regarding their strength."

"Of course sir. You did not even have to ask" Answered Lezalit excited.

"Like seriously. What the fuck is up with him? Why is he treating me like this?" thought Argus.

Just then Shalia returned.

"I did not find any signs of life in the surroundings. There were however a few rabbits." She said proudly dropping 2 dead rabbits on the ground.

Argus picked one and started skinning it. Shalia took care of the other one. Eberk placed a pan over the fire and threw some vegetables inside, then he added some water from the Infinte Flask.

When the rabbits were ready they were placed inside the pan and Eberk looked over it while the others lay around trying and failing to combat the saliva in their mouths they started having after smelling the stew.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity Eberk said it was ready and split the stew in 4 shares. Argus noticed his share was significantly larger than the others but they insisted that he should eat more.

The stew was delicious. Ever tasted rabbit stew? It was like that except it was good. So good you would sell your mother for a piece of it.

After they finished eating Argus pulled a few mugs of ale from his inventory and shared them with everyone.

"Okay, now that we have eaten we should decide on a course of action. Any ideas?" Asked Argus.

"Not really"

"Anything you say is good"

"Whatever you want is fine by me"

"Then I say we head south and figure out from there" suggested Argus.

The others agreed and after a little talk they decided to sleep. The wolves and the corpses would notify them if anything happened.

Argus fell asleep immediately. He hadn't noticed how exhausted he had become do to the stress of the last hour or so. The others however didn't go to sleep and instead kept watch over Argus during the whole night. After all they all had Rings of Sustenance, Argus had just removed his and had forgotten to reequip.

In the morning before they set out Argus found out something amazing. In spite of the fact that the Eyeball Corpses had vanished, the wolves had not and seemed to be permanent.

This was very good because it meant that they did not have to worry about their summoning time finishing and could build up on forces if need be.

"Send them to scout ahead of us but tell them to never engage anyone." Argus told Lezalit.

They summoned their horses, level 100 creatures Travelers Horses. They had a lot of health, stamina and increased carry weight for the riders but were quite slow by comparison to other horses.

After half a day of riding they spotted a small village in the distance and decided to head there.

As they approached the village a fairly beautiful young girl with blonde hair and brown eyes, who was working in the fields stood up and headed towards them.

"Good afternoon mister. I am Enri Emmot and this is Carne village. What brings you here?" she asked full of spirit.

"Good afternoon Enri. I am Argus the great bard and I have travelled from a very far away and to share my songs with other people. Do you think Carne can receive me?" Said Argus giving a slight bow, after dismounting his horse, telling her the story he had come up with during the ride.

"You're a bard?" asked Enri, eyes sparkling.

"Yes I am fair damsel. Now do you think I can stay over in the village for a night?"

"There is no inn in the village but I'm sure my parents wouldn't mind to provide a bed for you and your companions for a night." Said Enri excited.

"I will, of course, pay for any expense. But I think it would be better to discuss this with your parents." Argus told her. "I wouldn't want to be a nuisance to your parents."

"I'm sure they won't mind, after all the only visitor we ever get is Enfi."

"I'm sorry, who?"

"My friend Nfirea, he is a pharmacist and comes by once in a while to get herbs for his potions."

From this little exchange Argus got a lot of questions but he decided to ask them later.

As they entered the village Argus got an overall idea of the kind of world they had ended up in. Enri introduced him to his parents and the village chief and after some negotiations it was agreed that Argus would stay over at the Emmots for the night if he played a few songs for the village.

"Actually, if you don't mind chief, I would like to get a word you in private." Argus asked the village chief.

The chief was a bit doubtful but he agreed and they headed for his house. After they had taken a seat and Argus had told his companions to take a walk, they started talking.

"Well, you see. We are from a very distant country and we know next to nothing about the surrounding lands. Would you mind filling me in? Also I wasn't to see if my money is worth anything." Argus told the chief.

So the chief told him everything he knew about the surrounding lands and nations and his wife appraised the value of a Yggdrasil coin while they talked. A Yggdrasil gold coin seemed to be worth two normal gold coins.

"So we are in the Re-Estize Kingdom, near the fortress city of E-Rantel. Thank you very much. That was most helpful." Argus thanked the chief

"Think nothing of it. It was a pleasure to help. But heavens, would you look at the time. It seems it is time for your performance." Said the chief gazing at the setting sun. "We shall meet in the village square and then you can play any song you wish."

They headed out and Argus joined is companions in the square.

"Everyone around here is level one and I didn't notice anyone strong in the surroundings." Lezalit told him.

"Very well but stay ready. Just in case"

"Yes sir." All 3 of them answered him.

Argus went to the center of the square and pulled out his lute. It was an exquisite instrument made of the finest wood and unicorn hair has cords. It was a Divine class item capable of charming creatures and players. Argus decided against using its skills like that.

"I will start with a simple song" He said

Choosing one song from his considerable repertoire he started playing the lute and warmed his voice.

" _Wind is thin,_

 _Sun warm,  
The earth overflows  
With good things. _

_Spring is purple_

 _Jewelry;  
Flowers on the ground,  
Green in the forest. _

_Quadrupeds shine_

 _And wander. Birds  
Nest. On blossoming  
Branches they cry joy!"_

The villagers clapped and cheered when the song finished but silenced quickly because Argus was starting another.

" _Pastimes with good company,_

 _I love, and shall until I die._

 _Grouch who list, but none deny,_

 _So God be pleased, thus live will I._

 _For my pastance,_

 _Hunt, sing and dance,_

 _My heart is set;_

 _All goodly sport,_

 _For my comfort,_

 _Who shall me let?"_

Some people in the audience actually wept but they were silenced quickly by their neighbors as they wanted to hear the songs being played.

"Now, a song for the ladies." Said Argus dramatically fiddling the lute.

" _More than honey the words you speak are sweet,_

 _Honest and wise, nobly and wittily said,_

 _Yours are the beauties of Camiola complete,_

 _Of Iseult the blonde and Morgana the fairy maid._

 _If Blanchefleur should be added to the group,_

 _Your loveliness would tower above each head._

 _Beneath your brows five beautiful things repose:_

 _Love and a fire and a flame, the lily, the rose."_

When Argus finished several women in the audience had tiers in their eyes. This surprised Argus a bit. It seemed the lute greatly enhanced the power of the songs. It was quite different from the game.

Argus played a few more songs and, nearing the end of his performance, had an idea.

"Is there any song you would like me to sing?" he asked the audience which had, by this point, been completely captivated by him.

"A song about the Wise King Of The Forest." someone requested.

"I do not know this Wise King. Who is he?" Argus asked.

The villagers seemed surprised by this but Enri stepped up and explained him

"The Wise King Of The Forest is a monster that lives in the forest and looks after it. Thanks to him we do not have to worry about being attacked by monsters. He has been around for centuries and he his very powerful. Even stronger than some of the strongest adventurers."

Argus was quite interested in this creature has it would be a good way to get an idea on the average strength of this world.

"It seems I still have many stories to learn. What if I tell you of the battle against the Devourer of the Nine Worlds? It was a major battle were I come from. One that surpassed races and stigmas, where undead fought beside the living for the right to exist under the sun."

The villagers were obviously shaken. Undead? Fighting alongside the living? Preposterous. But this man said he had seen it and there was something about him wish made people trust him.

The NPCs were even more shaken. The Devourer of the Nine Worlds was the final boss of the main campaign. To them it was the being that had nearly destroyed the worlds, and Argus was saying that it had been defeated? Had he been there?

"Master." Called Shalia timidly. Then when Argus looked at her surprised she even more timidly asked her question."Did you fight it?"

"What? The Devourer? Yes I did. Defeated him with the help of Ainz Ooal Gown and a few other guilds like Royal Order. Also why did you call me master? Just call me Argus."

"I wouldn't dream of disrespecting you in that manner. How could I dare to call you by your august name. The one that saved our world." Retorted Shalia fervently.

"It's not like I was alone nor was I the first to do it. Also we are companions. It would be weird to have any of you call me anything other than my name. Now if you don't mind this fine people are waiting."

Before Shalia could answer Argus started playing the song. It was quite a long song. More like an old Norse epic poem and it took quite awhile for him to finish. When he finished he packed his lute and declared his performance over.

"Now if you do not mind I need to eta something, drink something and sleep somewhere."

Amidst the villagers tremendous cheers Enri and her sister, Nemu, took him to their house while their parents prepared something for them to eat. It was a simple dinner and after it was finished, and Argus after Argus lavishly praised the cooking skills, they all went to sleep. Before they laid down however Argus expressed interest in gazing upon the so called Wise King Of The Forest and told then he would leave very early to search for it.

Enri's parents wished him luck but cautioned him to be carefull as the beast was indeed very strong.

And like that they all went to sleep… except Shalia who seemed to be rather busy with something and was as red as a tomato… and Eberk and Lezalit were watching this facepalming.

And so night descended upon Carne Village.

CHAPTER END.

_ **Author's note:** Well, that took me longer to write than I tough it would. Also if anyone knows a song or wants to write a song for Argus to sing PM me. Just make sure I am not breaking copyright. I'm Portuguese so I might try to translate some of our poems and put them in the story but they will probably suck in english.

Let's see who notices the Homage(sort of) that I snug in.

If you like it leave a review.

Stay awesome and have fun.

LastArcanni


	3. Chapter 3

**The Wandering Bard**

Written by: LastArcanni

Proofread by: PervySageChuck (-senseisempaisama)

Author's note: Yay, PervySageChuck (-senseisempaisama) is proofreading my story.

Chapter 3

Just before sunrise, Argus and his team left the Emmot house without waking anyone and headed towards the forest in search of the Wise King of the Forest.

As they headed towards the forest Argus felt like something was off with his companions.

"Is everything all right?" he asked.

Shalia said nothing, Lezalit looked to the skies, Eberk seemed to be debating something.

"Actually, I have a question." he said after a while.

"So? Spit it out." Argus told him.

"Is Lyra going to be resurrected?" he asked.

Argus stopped in his tracks.

 _Fuck._ He had forgotten to resurrect Lyra last time.

Lyra was/had been their sorceress and during a dungeon clearing the day before the game ended and she had been killed when a group of PKs had appeared suddenly and attacked them. Because the game was going to end, Argus hadn't bothered to resurrect her. He should probably resurrect her. Like now. Now was a good time. Before fighting a powerful monster. What was he waiting for? Just do it already!

"You are right, Eberk. We shall resurrect her right here. Prepare everything."

The resurrection went fairly smoothly. Thankfully he had managed to recover her gear after her death. It also allowed him to confirm that NPC resurrection was possible. And it only cost him 500 million gold coins. Well, he still had a few billion in the bank so it wasn't that much of a problem.

Argus looked at Lyra's unconscious body. She was a white haired Caucasian woman with a beautiful face, small perky breasts and a little... ergh I mean never mind.

Argus very quickly covered Lyra with his cape and looked the other way. Lezalit also looked a bit uncomfortable and Eberk looked like an old man who had given up on living. Shalia had a rather amusing mixture of happiness and nervousness. On one side her friend had been resurrected, on the other this meant that she had a rival for Argus' heart. But she was still ahead, after all, Argus had called her his lover before they were brought to this world.

After a few minutes Lyra woke up and they told her everything that had happened during the time she was, well, dead. Argus also stressed the fact that she should call him Argus and not master or some other variation.

After Lyra equipped herself they set out once more. Only this time Lyra was playing with Shalia's hair.

Shalia was a tall woman, even for an elf, and she had long flowing red hair and a similar constitution to Lyra, if you know what I mean.

Eberk was your dwarf stereotype, a stunty from the bottom of his feet to the end of his beard, with dark brown hair and a serious expression all the time.

Lezalit had short hair similar to the style you would have in the army but a bit bigger on top and he sported a carefully trimmed beard that only covered his mouth and chin.

In terms of height, Lezalit would be the tallest at about 190 centimeters, then Argus at 185 and Shalia at 180, Lyra was 170 and Eberk being a dwarf was 135.

"Lyra, could you please stop playing with Shalia's hair?" asked Argus. "We are going to fight a supposedly, very strong monster."

"Yes, master." Lyra said.

"For fuck's sake." Muttered Argus under his breath.

"The strongest entity my wolves detect is a roughly level 30 monster in a cave a bit to the north." Lezalit informed Argus when they stopped at a clearing.

"That's all?" Asked Argus, surprised. "That is a quite low level."

"I am aware but it was all that we could find."

"He may know something. Have the wolves goad him here and we will deal with him."

"Very well, my lord." said Lezalit, bowing.

"OK, now you are just doing it on purpose."

"My lord?" Asked Lezalit, confused.

"Never mind. Just get the monster here, would you?"

Lezalit commanded his wolves and after a few moments he turned to Argus.

"It is coming."

"Good job. Standard formation." Argus told them equipping himself with his rapier and a hand crossbow.

Standard formation was when Lezalit takes the lead, Lyra is in the back, Shalia and Argus are in the middle and Eberk is near Lyra to provide cover in case she is attacked. It was part of the NPCs program so Argus figured they would interpret it as their usual tactic and follow the plan.

Soon after they positioned themselves, they felt the monster arrive at the edge of the clearing.

"Who are you who dare disrupt this King's sleep?" It asked with an intelligent voice.

"This King?" Argus asked surprised. "Are you telling me you are the Wise King of the Forest?"

"Indeed I am. Dost thou not realize my power?" Asked the King, obviously offended.

"You're not even 30." Argus retorted. "Well, I lost my drive. This is simply going to be a slaughter."

"Do not mock this King!" The King shouted, launching an attack.

The King's tail came from behind Argus to strike at him but it was too slow for him, a player who had fought alongside Touch Me and Warrior Takemikazuchi and had spent large quantities of time training with them. The thing about Argus is that he had maxed out the amount of points you could obtain through training and so his stats were quite high.

"Thank you for convincing me to train, Momonga." Argus whispered. Momonga was a hell of a guy. No wonder the guild followed him like they did. He should probably have dropped in on Momonga on the final day. Maybe he would be here with him now.

"Oh well. Might as well focus on the battle right now." Argus thought while unsheathing his rapier and parrying the strike.

"Very good." the King praised him. "It seems you are quite skilled. As a sign of respect this King will allow you to live if you leave the forest now."

"I'm being threatened by a level 30. How about you show yourself and we finish this?"

"Very well. This king shall show itself."

"Do not interfere. I will take care of him." Argus told his companions.

And then he saw a giant hamster step out into the light and act all mighty to him like it was the boss.

"Nope. Fuck it. [Despair Aura I]." Said Argus

The King trembled and threw itself on the floor with his belly up.

"This one surrenders. Please have mercy." It pleaded him.

Argus stared at it for a little bit them turned to the others.

"What do you want to do? I don't really want to kill a hamster but if that's your choice I'm okay with it. Although it is a bit too cute to simply kill off."

"Can we keep him?" Lyra asked.

"Not now." Argus answered. Then he had an idea.

"Hey, King, what's your name?"

"This one's name is the Wise King of..."

"You need a new name. Any ideas?"

"Maximillian, Lucius, or Caesar." Proposed Lezalit.

"What?" Went Argus.

"Fluffnugget or Fluffball." said Lyra.

"I know it's cute, but damn!" Argus thought.

"Foodstuff or Bucefalo." Offered Eberk.

"Alexander's horse? Seriously? The fuck?!"

"April or Hamsuke." Thought Shalia out loud.

"Are you male or female?" asked Argus to the rolling giant hamster.

"This one is a female, great lord."

"OK then. Which one do you prefer?"

"This one likes April and Bucefalo."

"OK April. You are going to stay in this forest and protect the people of that human village until such a time as when I call upon you. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, great one. May I inquire upon your name?"

"My name is Argus Grey and these are my companions Eberk Ironfist, Lezalit Le Goff, Shalia Erthana and Lyra Von Strauss." He said as he presented everyone.

"Many thanks, my Lord."

"Now, I am going to return to the village so you will follow me to the edge of the forest, okay?"

"Of course, my Lord. Your wish is my desire."

"Great, I guess."

They started to return to the village but as they moved closer to the edge of the forest they heard people screaming and running.

Quickly hiding behind a tree, Argus saw Enri running with her sister Nemu fleeing from a knight.

The knight slashed Enri and cut her back. Enri fell and, when the soldier approached them, she punched him in the helmet while she tried to make Nemu run away.

"Please Nemu, mister Argus is nearby. He will save you." she pleaded to her younger sister who stubbornly refused to let go.

"Don't leave me, sis!" Nemu begged her sister.

The knight was having none of this. It was already bad enough that he had to serve under Captain Belius and slaughter innocents but having to listen to the kids' last words was more than he could take. He was only human and he was just following orders. He raised his sword ready to thrust through the older sister all the way to the younger sister.

"Lezalit. Level. NOW." Argus ordered him.

"About level 15." Lezalit answered quickly.

Argus readied his rapier and lunged from behind cover, striking the knight and cutting him in half despite having made a thrust with a rapier. That just went to show the difference in their levels.

The other knight who was close behind tried to react but Argus shot him with his hand crossbow. The shot completely passed through him and the knight fell dead on the floor.

It had taken about two seconds and now 2 men were dead, yet Argus felt nothing inside of him. It was only to be expected. Life in 2138 wasn't exactly safe and there had been a fair share of wars over the last couple of years. But it still left a bit of an impression on how calm he could be. Then he remembered the girls.

"Enri, drink this." He said, tossing a minor healing potion at her.

Enri was obviously shocked and suspicious but did what she had been told and drank it, then she let out a gasp when she realized she was healed.

"Are there any more knights in the village?" Argus asked Enri.

"Yes, there are. Please save our parents." Enri pleaded him.

Argus looked at Enri. Chances were they were already dead but he wasn't going to destroy the poor kid.

"I'll do what I can. Lyra cast a few spells to protect them."

Lyra stepped forward and chanted a few spells.

[Wall of Protection from Arrows]

[Anti-Life Cocoon]

"This should be enough." Lyra said.

"Very well. Shalia and Lyra. Check the village surroundings. Eberk, Lezalit. You two come with me. April, you protect Enri and Nemu." Argus gave out the tasks before setting out.

Moving quickly, Argus entered the village and headed for the square as all the noise came from there.

Right in front of him there were knights herding the villagers into the square.

Argus struck the first knight, killing him and then very quickly threw two knives at other knights. These knives, just like all of his equipment, were divine class items so they cut the steel armour like it was paper and killed the knights.

"You have exactly 3 seconds to explain yourselves before I start murdering you lot." Argus threatened them.

The warriors looked at him with doubt in their eyes. Normally they would have swarmed him but this man in a suit that seemed to compete with the rainbow for the number of colours had just killed three of them in a single second.

The man that seemed to be in charge of the others stepped up and arrogantly called out to him.

"Who are you who dares challenge us, the Great Baharuth Empire?" He shouted.

Argus was looking at the peasants and how they were. There were quite a few less of them and Argus couldn't see the Emmots anywhere.

"Where are the Emmots?" he asked the village chief. "The daughters are safe."

"They are dead." one villager told him.

Argus turned towards the knights and pierced them with his eyes.

"You heard that? Thanks to you, two young girls are now orphans. What are you going to do about that?"

"Why should I care? They are just peasants of an enemy country." The commander told him while turning to his men. "Kill this fool!"

Some knights tried to attack Argus but, at that moment Lezalit and Eberk arrived and they were having none of it.

With his spear, Lezalit impaled a soldier using him afterwards to block the other attackers while Eberk made short work of them with his warhammer.

It wasn't a battle. It was a massacre. Of the 30 something soldiers in the square only 10 remained and Argus hadn't even joined the fray.

"You can surrender or you can die." Argus offered the soldiers.

The knights quickly threw their weapons down and waited for Argus to pass judgment.

"Except your leader. He dies." Argus informed them pulling a massive crossbow out of nowhere.

Captain Belius begged for his life. He offered Argus gold, his men's lives, anything.

"No." Argus told him. "You said that the peasants were not important so let's see what they want to do with you."

The villagers looked at Argus unsure of what to do.

"Do I kill him or does he get to live?" he explained.

The villagers were having doubts of what to do when a man with tears in his eyes called for vengeance for the life of his daughter and wife. Soon the other villagers joined him. Belius looked terrified.

"Do you want to add anything?" Argus asked the other soldiers.

One of the soldiers spit on the ground and faced him.

"Do what you wish. I never liked that rapist." he said with a voice full of hatred.

"Well, you heard them. Goodbye." Said Argus with a sadistic smile on his face as he aimed the crossbow.

"No please! No! I will do any...urgh..." tried to plead the captain.

As Argus fired the massive weapon, the bolt pierced the armour and completely destroyed the captain's body leaving a gory mess behind.

The other soldiers were visibly scared but Argus told them to drop their gear and weapons, tell him everything about their mission and then they would be free to go.

Not daring to lie, the soldiers told him they belonged to the Slane Theocracy and that they were sent to kill the Warrior-Captain Gazef Stronoff and make the Kingdom fight the Empire.

"It was a good plan. Shame that it failed, for you at least." Argus told them as they left.

At that moment, Lyra contacted him via [Message].

"Master, Shalia says there are some knights heading for the village. Should we handle them?"

"No. Join us in the square and let us wait for these knights."

Shalia and Lyra used [Gate] and joined Argus, Lezalit and Eberk in the square.

"Village chief. There are more riders approaching. Can you get your people inside a house?"

"Yes, I can. Will they attack us?"

"I don't know but I will defend the village so do not worry."

The village chief was about to say something but at that moment the riders arrived at the village.

They wore leather armour and had a collection of different weapons. Compared to the other knights they looked more like bandits but these ones looked like they were veterans. They were led by a big man who jumped from his horse and approached Argus and the others.

"I am Gazef Stronoff, Warrior-Captain of the Kingdom of Re-Estize. I was sent by the king to hunt down the bandits attacking the villages."

"So this is the Warrior-Captain, eh?" Thought Argus to himself.

"Almost level 30, master." Lezalit whispered to him.

"Thanks." Argus told him.

"Warrior-Captain, an honour. The bandits you look for were knights of the Slane Theocracy and most of them lay dead. They disguised themselves as knights from the Empire and lure you out so that they may kill you and blame the Empire, forcing your two nations to fight."

Gazef looked at him surprised but quickly covered for it as he stretched out his hand to Argus.

"I am very grateful sir…?"

"Argus, Argus Grey. It was nothing, they attacked the village where I was staying, so I helped out."

"Still, I am very grateful and so is the king. Our most sincere thanks for your actions."

"Very well then. I assume my presence is no longer required and that the village chief can inform you of everything that happened."

"If you really must leave I cannot stop you." Gazef told him "Safe travels and should you ever come across the Royal Capital feel free to knock at my door."

"I will hold you to that, Warrior-captain. Fare thee well."

Just as Argus prepared to leave, a soldier rode into the village.

"Sir, the village is surrounded by strange men."

Gazef and Argus quickly moved into the outskirts to confirm the situation and saw about 50 figures outside the village space out between each other.

"Magic casters, probably summoners." Lezalit said as he gazed upon them. "Too far away for me to evaluate their strength."

"Well Warrior-Captain, what are you going to do?" Argus asked Gazef. "I doubt they will leave this village alone even if they got you."

Gazef looked at Argus and nodded.

"I will charge out and grab their attention. In the meantime the villagers can run for the forest."

"Will you present yourself as a sacrifice?" Asked Argus, impressed.

"I am the Warrior-Captain and I must protect the people of this kingdom." Gazef answered with determination.

"Sir Argus, may I hire you for the battle?" Gazef asked him.

"I'd rather sit this one out if that would be okay with you." Argus told him.

"And if I tried to conscript you into the army?" Gazef asked him as the surroundings tensed.

"Would you be able to?" Argus questioned him with a smile.

Gazef stared at him for a few moments before relaxing.

"I wouldn't. In that case I just ask that you get the villagers to safety."

"I already promised to do that, so do not worry." Argus assured him.

Gazef bowed to him once more before heading to his horse, mounting it and heading towards the enemy.

The village chief approached Argus but Argus assured him that Gazef was going to draw the enemy's attention so that they may escape.

As the villagers prepared to run Argus watched the battle develop and evaluated the casters' strength. As the soldiers were cut down and Gazef defeated several summoned angels Argus decided it was time.

"Lyra teleport us to right in front of Gazef. Eberk, you heal the wounded. I will deal with the rest." He told them as he loaded his crossbow.

The next moment they were in front of Gazef and Argus had shot an angel which was immediately destroyed.

"Good day to all of you. I am Argus Grey and I will either be your best friend or your worst enemy. I recommend that you stand down or die."

"Who dares to interrupt God's work? Attack him with your archangels." The leader ordered his men.

Several Archangel Flames attacked Argus but he just smiled and stretched his hand.

"[Call Greater Thunder]"

Almost all of the angels were killed by the spell and the ones that were not affected by it were finished off by Shalia and Lezalit.

The leader, obviously panicking, ordered his angel to attack but Argus drew his rapier and pierced the angel with one strike, destroying it.

By now, Eberk had healed the soldiers and Gazef, and the other mages were freaking out and throwing every spell they knew at Argus. Unfortunately for them Argus had resistances against low level attacks. The leader pulled out a crystal from his robes and held it high.

"Do not worry! The strongest angel is here!" he shouted as he activated the crystal.

"Lezalit, cover us. It might be a Seraph Empyrean." Argus ordered.

"Come forth! Dominion of Authority." The leader shouted.

The mages were obviously excited at the sight of the huge angel with numerous wings and a pale holy light radiating from it.

"Dominion of Authority? That's it? Pathetic." Argus said shooting it.

The angel shattered into a million pieces and the mages fell into despair.

"Now be good boys and surrender to the Warrior-Captain." Argus told them.

"Who are you?" one of the mages asked him.

"I'm a bard."

"What?"

"I am a simple bard. Are we clear?"

All the men were in shock but the warrior troop reacted faster and seized the mages. Argus gave them some items that nullified low level magic and sent them off. Gazef was also given a letter for his king where Argus explained what the knights had told him and with a few praises for the Warrior-Captain, Argus returned to the village and told the villagers they were safe. He went and picked up Enri and Nemu to make sure April had done her job.

The villagers were quite shaken and they had the desire to improve themselves so that they would be able to defend their family. Argus was impressed at their determination and wanted to give them an item. But whom to give it to? It would last until the user died so the old people were out of question however there were only a few young ones left alive. Argus could only think of one person to whom he could give the items.

"Enri," he called, "may I have a word with you?"

Enri was quite shaken over her parents' death but followed Argus.

"This item is called Horn of the Goblin General. It will summon a few goblins to protect you when you use it. The goblins will last until either you or them die." Said Argus, giving her three horns.

"Why are you giving this to me?"

"You are the person that best fits the requirements I set and I know you will do a good job. Besides it will help you out immensely."

Enri was lost for words so Argus just gave her a quick hug, did the same to Nemu, and gave the village chief his farewells and best wishes for the future.

"Where do we go now, master?" Shalia asked him as they left the village.

"We go for E-Rantel." Argus answered her with a smile.

CHAPTER END.

Author's Note: My most sincere thanks to PervySageChuck (-senseisempaisama) for proofreading my garbage and an apology for all the work I put him through.

I am having an idea for another story so I'm going to write it down and I will return when I'm done; it just doesn't leave my mind.

PS: the (-senseisempaisama) is something that I am adding. See Naruto Abridged if you have any doubts.


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